I Dream of Gelato

I love gelato. Let me say it again, I LOVE GELATO.  My love affair with the creamy decadent dessert starting back in the late 1980's when I was a young Italian language student in Florence. I was staying in a home with a wonderful Italian family who lived near Piazza San Marco. My language school was past the Ponte Vecchio on the Oltrano side of the river in the Piazza Santo Spirito. In the mornings I would take the bus but in the afternoon after class, I would walk home. I wanted to explore the city. I was in love with Italy and studying in Florence was like a dream.  I focused on a different path home every day so I could explore various neighborhoods. What I loved the most about those walks was the time I got to be alone with the city. I loved watching the Florentines going about their day; the stylishly dressed women and men who parade up and down Via de' Tornabuoni or the vendors in the San Lorenzo Market selling their leather bags and jackets. 

The other thing I loved about my walks was the myriad of gelato stores (gelaterias) I would pass. I couldn't even begin to count how many gelaterias I frequented during my monthlong stay. They were all great but there was this one gelateria in particular. It was on the street that leads from Piazza della Signoria where the Palazzo Vecchio is to the Piazza Santa Maria dei Fiore, the main piazza of Florence. It is a gelato lover's dream come true. The gelateria has probably over 70 different flavors and I am not ashamed to admit I tried every single flavor. Every day I would order a cone with at least two different flavors then head out on my journey of exploration. I savored every flavor not only as a tasty delight but also as a new discovery, and I was all about new discoveries at that time. I was nineteen, I was alone in Italy and I had the rest of my life ahead of me. It was a great time.

And that's really when my love affair with gelato began, in that store on that street in that city. That love still endures today. Every time I eat a gelato it's as if I was nineteen again, walking down the streets of Florence, experiencing life and loving every minute of it. 

So, let's all dream of gelato together.